Choriocarcinoma is a rare primary germ cell tumour of the ovary composed of cyto- and syncytotrophoblast cells. Most of the choriocarcinomas are normally arising in the gestational trophoblast, gonads and, less frequently, mediastinum, pineal gland and retroperitoneum. We report a case of primary choriocarcinoma of renal artery causing secondary renovascular ...

Granulosa cell tumours (GCTs) of the ovary are a rare entity among the neoplasms of gynaecological oncology. Deriving from the stroma of the ovary, GCTs are generally characterised by insidious growth, low malignancy potential and late recurrence. The standard treatment for these tumours is principally surgical, consisting of bilateral adnexectomy ...

To evaluate the impact of maternal brain tumours on perinatal and maternal management and outcome. We performed a retrospective cohort study in a single referral centre with departments of obstetrics, neurology, and neurosurgery from January 2003 to July 2011. Cases were retrieved from our hospital databases, excluding pituitary adenomas, metastasis, ...

Our aim was to evaluate seizure course in catamenial epilepsy (CE) and noncatamenial epilepsy (NCE) during pregnancy.METHODS: We prospectively followed women referred to our Epilepsy Center for pregnancy planning to the end of the pregnancy. According to their seizure frequency variations across the menstrual cycle, all patients were divided into ...

To identify quantitative MEG indices of spontaneous brain activity for fetal neurological maturation in normal pregnancies and examine the effect of fetal state on these indices. Spontaneous MEG brain activity was examined in 22 low-risk fetal recordings with gestational age (GA) ranging from 30 to 37weeks. As major quantitative characteristics ...

Pregnant women with epilepsy have a significantly increased risk of mortality and morbidity compared to non-pregnant women. At least one in 250 pregnancies is exposed to anti-epileptic drugs (AED). Seizure deterioration occurs in up to a third of pregnant women. AED levels fall in most pregnant women, although it is ...

Thornton Matthew D MD From the Department of Pediatrics, Section of Emergency Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, - - 2013

Neonatal seizures are a potentially life-threatening pediatric problem with a variety of causes, such as birth trauma, asphyxia, congenital anomalies, metabolic disturbances, infections, and drug withdrawal or intoxication. Thorough and timely evaluations of such patients are necessary to identify and treat the underlying etiology, therefore reducing potential morbidity and mortality. ...

The aims of the study were to characterize the magnitude of clearance changes during pregnancy for multiple antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and to assess seizure frequency and factors increasing seizure risk in pregnant women with epilepsy. A retrospective analysis was performed for 115 pregnancies in 95 women with epilepsy followed at ...

Seizures during pregnancy complicate <1% of all gestations; however, they are associated with increased adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes (acute and long term). The differential diagnosis of seizures in pregnancy is extensive. Determining the underlying etiology is crucial in the management of these patients. Medical providers caring for pregnant women ...

To analyze seizure control, dose adjustments, and other changes of antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment during pregnancy in a large cohort of women with epilepsy entering pregnancy on monotherapy with carbamazepine, lamotrigine, phenobarbital, or valproate. Seizure control and AED treatment were recorded prospectively in 3,806 pregnancies of 3,451 women with epilepsy ...

Levetiracetam is a broad-spectrum antiepileptic drug (AED) which is currently licensed in the United States and the United Kingdom and Ireland for use as adjunctive treatment of focal-onset seizures and myoclonic seizures or generalized tonic-clonic seizures, occurring as part of generalized epilepsy syndromes. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it ...

Infertility in idiopathic or acquired hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) was managed with exogenous gonadotropins and artificial reproduction as needed, in Auckland, New Zealand, from 2000 to 2010. Of eight men seeking conception, 2/2 with acquired HH but only 2/6 with congenital HH achieved clinical pregnancy with exogenous gonadotropins, whereas 12/14 women ...

OBJECTIVE: to investigate how to prevent transmission of HIV and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) by exploring whether screening of men during pregnancy may be an innovative way to reach men, to increase detection, and to avoid the present gendered responsibility. DESIGN: an explorative research strategy with in-depth interviews and an analysis ...

The existence of a high blood pressure during the pregnancy represents a real danger for the mother and child, responsible for damage of the kidney, brain, liver, and placenta, cardiovascular and hormonal system. Nervous system changes can include blurred vision, seeing spots, severe headaches, convulsions, brain hemorrhage, and even occasionally ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether systematic examination of the primary and secondary palate with 3D ultrasound aids in the identification of orofacial clefts in the first trimester. METHODS: 3D datasets were acquired prospectively from women undergoing first-trimester ultrasound screening for aneuploidy. Multiplanar mode display was used for off-line analysis of (1) ...

Peripartum seizure is a serious disease with substantial morbidity and mortality for the mother and fetus. Among various causes of such seizures, sometimes 2 causative factors can occur, simultaneously creating a dilemma in pharmacotherapeutic management. We describe a 34-weeks-pregnant woman with a history of epilepsy (receiving antiepileptic drugs) who had ...

BACKGROUNDFew epidemiological studies have explored the relationship between orofacial clefts and bronchodilators. We assessed whether mothers who used bronchodilators during early pregnancy were at an increased risk of delivering infants with orofacial clefts.METHODSWe used National Birth Defects Prevention Study case-control data from mothers of 2711 infants with orofacial clefts and ...

To investigate the accuracy of prenatal axial three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound in predicting the absence or presence of cleft palate in the presence of cleft lip. Between March 2005 and January 2009, there were 81 cases with a prenatal two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound screening diagnosis of unilateral or bilateral cleft lip at ...

Selected antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) increase the risk of birth defects. To assess the impact of influencing AED prescribing practices on spina bifida and cleft palate we searched the literature for estimates of the association between valproic acid or carbamazepine use during pregnancy and these defects and summarized the associations using ...

: Prior studies of the association between physical activity and risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy have been conflicting, failed to assess total physical activity, and included few Hispanic women, the largest minority group in the United States with the highest birth rates. : We examined this association among 1043 ...

Percutaneous device closure of patent foramen ovale has developed into a therapeutic option for patients with presumed cryptogenic stroke. The appropriate use of these therapies relies on appropriate clinical assessment, as well as an understanding of the potential advantages of certain closure devices. Pregnancy is an uncommon scenario for stroke, ...

Status epilepticus (SE) in pregnancy is very rare, and there are only a few case reports of refractory SE (RSE) during pregnancy. The patient was a 27-year-old primigravida woman with a 21-year history of seizures from cortical dysplasia. At 23 weeks of pregnancy, the patient's seizure frequency progressively increased, and ...

Ischemic stroke during pregnancy and puerperium represents a rare occurrence but it could be a serious and stressful event for mothers, infants, and also families. Whenever it does occur, many concerns arise about the safety of the mother and the fetus in relation to common diagnostic tests and therapies leading ...

Although pregnancy and postpartum have long been associated with stroke, there is a dearth of information in Latino-American populations. The aim of this study was to describe the cerebrovascular complications occurring during pregnancy/postpartum and compare the characteristics amongst stroke types occurring in this period in Hispanic women. We studied 240 ...

Stroke is a rare but potentially devastating disease during pregnancy and puerperium. Pregnancy is well recognized as a risk factor for stroke. Accurate and timely identification of stroke is crucial for clinical practice. However, the optimal management of pregnant women with stroke remains a clinical challenge. Thus, identification of risk ...

The aim of this study was to determine the association between inherited thrombophilias and pregnancy-related hypertension recurrence. In this case-control study, blood samples were obtained from patients who had at least two pregnancies complicated with pregnancy-related hypertension (n = 41) and healthy, normotensive pregnancies delivered without any complication (n = 38). Following the DNA ...

Preeclampsia (PE) is a major contributor to maternal and fetal mortality. The cause of preeclampsia remains unclear, but oxidative stress on the endothelium leading to endothelial dysfunction is said to be the root cause of the disease. The aim of this study was to measure and determine the plasma levels ...

Low-dose aspirin therapy could improve remodelling of maternal spiral arteries during early placentation and prevent subsequent pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders. We investigated whether low-dose aspirin therapy reduces the incidence of hypertensive pregnancy complications in unselected IVF and ICSI patients when medication was started prior to pregnancy. A total of 487 patients ...

To estimate the association between maternal pregnancy-related hypertension and offspring hypertension later in life in a birth cohort from New England. Covariate and exposure data were collected between 1959 and 1966 through the Collaborative Perinatal Project. Follow-up information was obtained through the New England Family Study between 2001 and 2004, ...

We determined whether postnatal pulmonary hypertension induced by 70% of pregnancy at high altitude (HA) persists once the offspring return to sea level and investigated pulmonary vascular mechanisms operating under these circumstances. Pregnant ewes were divided into two groups: conception, pregnancy, and delivery at low altitude (580 m, LLL) and ...

This study aims to determine the influence of previous abortions and new paternity on the risk of hypertension in a cohort of nulliparous women. A prospective cohort study was conducted with development of hypertension in pregnancy as outcome variable. Explanatory variables were previous abortions and paternity. Univariate analysis was by ...

The benefits of appropriate blood pressure (BP) control include reductions in proteinuria and possibly a slowing of the progressive loss of kidney function. Overall, medication therapy to lower BP during pregnancy should be used mainly for maternal safety because of the lack of data to support an improvement in fetal ...

The aim of this study was to evaluate maternal and fetal outcome of the subsequent pregnancy of primiparous women with a history of early-onset intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), prompting delivery before 34 weeks of gestation, without concomitant maternal hypertensive disease. Retrospective cohort study. Tertiary center in the Netherlands. Women with ...

OBJECTIVE: To reduce maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality associated with the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy by using an active model of guideline implementation. METHODS: This study used a preintervention and postintervention cohort comparison design. We interrogated the British Columbia Perinatal Database Registry for 6 years of existing prospectively gathered ...

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension is a rare condition associated with significant maternal mortality. We report the management of a 37-year-old multigravida with severe disease using epoprostenol, a multidisciplinary approach, and a planned delivery. Although the patient survived the pregnancy, her pulmonary function significantly worsened. Epoprostenol, a pulmonary vasodilator, should be ...

BACKGROUND: Whether pregnancy impacts on the long-term outcome of immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy is unknown. This study aims to compare the long-term outcome of kidney disease in women with IgA nephropathy and preserved kidney function who did and did not become pregnant. STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter longitudinal cohort study. SETTING & ...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the potential association of chorionic villus sampling (CVS) with subsequent development of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and to evaluate whether any such potential association remains significant after adjusting for maternal characteristics and components of first-trimester screening. METHODS: We included live singleton pregnancies at 11 0/7 to 13 ...

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy can be chronic, pregestational or just diagnosed before the 20th week, or newly diagnosed in the second half of pregnancy. Any type of hypertension is more frequent in diabetic pregnancies with a different distribution among different types of diabetes. Most of the evidence is for pre-eclampsia ...

To compare the maternal bone mineral density (BMD) changes in gestational hypertensive and normotensive pregnancies using quantitative ultrasound. Consecutive patients were recruited from a general obstetric clinic over a period of 9 months. BMD measurements were performed at the os calcis in early pregnancy before 20 weeks and in the ...

Preeclampsia is a life-threatening pregnancy syndrome of uncertain origin. To elucidate the pathogenesis, we evaluated the temporal relationships between changes in vascular function and circulating biomarkers of angiogenic activity before and after the onset of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension. Maternal mean arterial pressure, uterine artery pulsatility index, brachial artery flow-mediated ...

An intronic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the CYP3A5 gene (CYP3A5*3; SNP rs776746) affects RNA splicing and enzymatic activity. The CYP3A5*3 frequency increased with distance from the equator and natural selection has been proposed to explain the worldwide distribution of this allele. CYP3A activity has been related with the risk ...

Hypertension remains the most commonly encountered medical condition in pregnant women, complicating up to 15% of all pregnancies. It results in frequent hospital admissions, maternal morbidity and mortality and iatrogenic preterm birth with concomitant neonatal morbidity and mortality. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy comprise a spectrum of severity ranging from a ...

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancies remain a central public health concern throughout the world, and are a major cause of maternal mortality in the developing world. Although treatment options have not significantly changed in recent years, insight on the pathogenesis of preeclampsia/eclampsia has been remarkable. With improved animal models of preeclampsia ...

The purpose of this study was to determine the value of bilateral uterine artery notching in the second trimester in the risk assessment for preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) without preeclampsia. This prospective cohort study included 4190 singleton pregnancies that underwent ultrasound examination between 23 and 25 weeks' gestation. ...

Pregnancy is a cardiovascular and metabolic challenge to the human female body. This review summarizes current knowledge on the regulation of blood pressure and plasma volume in normal and hypertensive pregnant women. During pregnancy, systemic vascular resistance and blood pressure decrease, whereas cardiac output and blood volume increase to safeguard ...

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. The cause and the pathogenesis of the pregnancy-induced syndrome, preeclampsia, is still poorly understood. Published evidence of altered biomarkers for the endothelial dysfunction suggests that the initiating event in preeclampsia is the reduced ...